As the backlash surrounding KD: The Devil's 'Sarke Chunar' song grows louder, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has issued summons to actors Nora Fatehi and Sanjay Dutt who feature in the song, along with lyricist Raqueeb Alam, producer Venkat K Narayana, and director Prem. They took suo motu cognisance of the issue following reports of "obscene" and "vulgar" lyrics and portrayal in the song.
According to the statement from NCW, the commission "has taken serious note of the matter" and stated that the song "appears to be sexually suggestive and objectionable," which leads to the violations of provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the IT Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The summons has been issued to the makers and actors Nora Fatehi and Sanjay Dutt to appear before the commission on March 24 at 12:30 pm. Failing to comply with the summons, they had warned, will invite appropriate actions as per law.
Initially, the Hindi version of the track was pulled down from YouTube following multiple complaints and intervention from the National Human Rights Commission. Later, the Union government had banned the song. Confirming the decision, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said that freedom of speech in India is subject to constitutional limits.
A day earlier, the Karnataka State Women’s Commission had also stepped in to register their strong objections to the lyrics, calling them obscene and disrespectful towards women. They wrote to the Regional Censor Board as well as the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, asking for immediate action and a detailed report. Stating that cinema is a powerful medium that shapes public behaviour, Chairperson Dr Nagalakshmi Chaudhary expressed concern that such lyrics risk normalising casual and derogatory references to women in society. She also noted that she personally found the song uncomfortable, adding that she could not sit through it in its entirety.
Reacting to the controversy, Nora Fatehi said that she had no idea the song would become controversial. She clarified that she had performed the song in Kannada three years ago, a language she does not understand, and was shocked by the Hindi lyrics, like everyone else.
Meanwhile, KD: The Devil is set for a theatrical release on a pan-India scale on April 30. The gangster drama, inspired by true events from 1970 to 1975, stars Shilpa Shetty, V Ravichandran, Ramesh Aravind, Dhruva Sarja, and Reeshma Nanaiah.
